Home for the Holidays
by GayerThanOriginallyIntended
Summary: With the entire Weasley family under the same roof again for an entire week things are bound to get complicated. Especially when Charlie and Hermione form an unlikely alliance hoping for a peaceful Christmas.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Wow. I don't think I have taken that long of a break from writing ever. But now that I am settled into my first semester in college I should be posting fairly regularly.

I got this challenge a couple months ago and just never got around to it. When I finally did it got a bit out of hand. WAY too many words to be a one shot so I'll probably break it into two or three parts. I hope you like it. Tell me what you think. If you have a prompt that you would like to read leave it in a comment or PM us and either me or Ryan will get right on it!

Ryan: I hope you get around to reading it and to finishing my Narcissa/Lucius.

Love, Jess

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Molly Weasley could not be more thrilled to have her family all home for the holidays. The week before Bill, Fleur and Victoire arrived she was manically cleaning. The week before Percy and Penelope flooed in was all about planning-from what time everyone would wake up to where they would sit on Christmas morning. For the days before Charlie came she was hysterical about making enough room for everyone. Unfortunately, Ron, Harry and Hermione were present for every meltdown.

The final result was well worth all the worry, Molly was sure (even if the rest of the lot were less convinced). It was rare that the entire clan got together for so long. In fact, they had not all been at the Burrow at one time since the end of the war. Naturally such a large family tends to scatter as they grow older but it was nice to be surrounded by family again.

The first night that everyone was there Molly prepared enough food to feed an army. Harry, Hermione, Luna, Angelina and little Teddy joined in the festivities, though only for the night for some. The Weasley home was more full than it had been in years. They all gathered around the table to eat but, let's face it, family dinners are rarely about food. The conversations were everywhere. Harry, Ginny and Charlie were debating quidditch with an occasional comment from Ron about the Chudley Cannons which was immediately dismissed, much to his frustration. Percy and Penelope were deep in conversation with Bill and Fleur about their quickly growing baby girl, any parent's favorite subject. Molly Weasley was sitting across from Hermione and having a grand time interrogating her.

"So, Harry said you went on a date with that Nott boy. Rough start that boy had but I hear good things of him. Percy! You know Theo Nott, don't you?"

Percy turned around with a confused look, "Yes. He works at the Ministry. I was concerned about him at first seeing how nearly his entire family were Death Eaters but he seems like a decent bloke. Keeps to himself mostly."

That was enough for Molly to run with, "That's what I expected. Just because you come from a rotten home doesn't mean you can't turn it around for yourself. Sirius Black came from the worst there was and he was one of the best men I ever knew. I'm sure Theo is a nice boy now."

"Yes, we had dinner a couple times. He is nice but very dull. We haven't spoken in a while."

Molly's face visibly fell but she tried to cover it, "Oh, no worries dear. A pretty girl like yourself won't stay single long. I can call an old friend of mine, Cecilia, for you if you like. Poor dear, her son was a squib. Nice boy, though. Some people are scarred by being the only non-magic one in the bunch but not Randal. No, he is going to school to be a poet or writer or some other nonsensical job," she looked over at Hermione and laughed a bit, "He is the same age as you and Ron, I think. You should meet him."

"That's sweet, Mrs. Weasley, but I am really not interested in dating right now. There is so much for me to do at work."

She shook her head and tutted, "You are too young to be so focused on your career. You've got your whole life ahead of you, dear."

And so it went for the rest of dinner until Charlie abandoned his conversation to focus on the plateful of food in front of him. With Charlie freed up Hermione was off the hook (for the moment, anyway).

But after a few "Oh, you really should be married by now, Charlie, and here you are single for another Christmas," and "I'm sure Bill knows loads of nice girls that he could introduce you to. Although, at this age you'll be lucky if any of them are still single," and "It's just not natural!" even Hermione felt bad for him. She, at least according to Molly Weasley, still had a good year or two to find love. Charlie was living on borrowed time and she could not stand the thought of him dying alone.

Hermione shot him a look, trying to express her sympathy to a man that she hardly knew but at least she knew the struggle of being pounced on by his mother. She knew that, when you love your career, you are willing to put it ahead of any romantic entanglements and she hated to see anyone attacked because they enjoyed what they do for a living.

Charlie gave an infinitesimal shrug as if to say, "Eh, what can you do?"

In hindsight that is probably where it all started: Hermione's deep brown eyes locking with his and demanding the center of his attention, Charlie's shrug of the shoulders, quirk of the lips, hint of a dimple hiding under all those freckles and stubble. From there they were transfixed in a way that neither of them truly understood but that was quite obvious to any observer, more so as the hours passed.

Every room one wandered into the other would somehow slip in after without thinking about it. They were magnets, drawn to each other in that inexplicable way. Sometimes they would talk to each other, sometimes to the other occupants of whatever room they found themselves in. They were never too far apart, though, and there was always a palpable charge in the air around them that made anyone near them shift uncomfortably as if they were interrupting a private moment between two lovers. Everyone besides Molly Weasley, that is, who was salivating at their every exchange.

"What kind of dragons are you working with now?" Hermione might say.

"I work with a few at a time but I am with a Norwegian Ridgeback mostly. It is a son of the dragon that we so rudely confiscated from Hagrid all those years ago, actually," Charlie would say with a laugh.

And Molly would lean over and hiss something like, "Look how close they are sitting!" in her husband's ear.

Whatever was in the air that gave them such a craving to be near each other also seemed to steal away any observational skills they might have possessed prior to that night. Hermione Granger had never been so obtuse in her life but she never noticed the crazy looks Ron and Harry were giving her or the face-splitting grin that had yet to leave Mrs. Weasley's face. Charlie did not either, for a long time. An hour probably passed before he noticed something being a bit off but when he did notice he nearly shot out of his seat. With every bit of self control he could muster he kept his composure and calmly leaned very close to Hermione so that only they could hear.

"Hermione, can I see you in the kitchen please?" He asked as quietly and as inconspicuously as possible.

She nodded and followed him out past his beaming mother, mouthing we'll be right back to the roomful of questioning faces.

"Hermione, I have a proposition for you," Charlie said when he was sure that nobody was listening after them. He had one hand on her arm which was terribly distracting and a cool determined look on his face that she could see right through.

Nothing good ever comes from those words, Hermione thought to herself, but her curiosity was piqued. She had hardly known Charlie at all before he had come to spend Christmas with the Weasleys just days before. Though they had gotten on well since he got in, Hermione could hardly think of a proposition he would have for her that would look so nervous about.

She nodded for him to continue and he took a deep breathe and shot her an odd glance.

"Will you be my girlfriend for the week?"

Whatever she had been expecting it to say, that was not it. Hermione Granger was not very often speechless but for a moment her mind could not find any words to respond to his question.

In the end she sputtered out, "What?" which turned out to be sufficient.

Charlie hesitated, distracted by the slight flush in her cheeks. It reminded him of a child who said the wrong answer in class. With every second that he did not answer her eyes got more curious and her blush got a shade darker.

Finally he pulled himself together and delivered the lines that he had been planning out in his mind since they left the family room.

"I've seen how Mum is on your case nearly as much as she is on mine about the whole dating business. I just want a peaceful Christmas, is all, and seeing how we are the last single people in this house I think we can help each other out," he forced out.

His hand caught the edge of his shirt in a curious nervous habit and twisted it between his thumb and index finger. A small muscle in his forearm flexed ever so slightly and flashed a long scar running down the length of his right arm. Hermione quickly forced her eyes away before she could conjure up her own story of how he came to have such a huge scar. No, she had a proposition to ponder presently and was not to be distracted by some sudden fascination with her best friend's brother.

"It would mean lying to your family on Christmas."

Charlie nodded but remained silent.

"You'll be spending most of your holiday with a girl you hardly know."

He nodded again, straight faced.

Hermione smiled, "You must be very desperate to get your mum off your case. I understand the feeling. I'm in."

And so the deception began. The over-the-top flirting in a room full of people, the "secret" meetings, the confession right before they were sent off to bed that they were together. All of it was awkward at first. Everytime she would lean in and whisper flirtatiously into Charlie's ear she could see Ron scowling out of the corner of her eyes. Of course, they had dated a couple year before and called things off less than a month into their courtship. Of course, he had just proposed to Luna after dating for nearly a year. But Ron Weasley was a naturally jealous person, particularly of his brothers. The feeling of inadequacy made him act like a lunatic. All night and for the rest of the week as it would happen Ron walked around mumbling about how "nobody is loyal anymore" and how that was just "disrespectful" and how Charlie was "much too old for her". To her credit, Luna took her fiance's meltdown in stride (assuming that she noticed at all).

"After all these years you would think someone would ask me before going off with my brother," Ron would grumble.

Without a pause Luna would give him an airy smile and spout off some nonsense about how "Zeezles have probably crawled up her nose and clouded her judgement."

What a lovely couple they made.

Ron's bad attitude turned out to be least of her concern, though. After five minutes of Molly Weasley fussing over them Hermione was ready to drop the whole charade. If not for Charlie's big blue eyes begging for her understanding she surely would have. Damn his pitiful eyes piercing into her soul!

"Come on, Hermione, she's not that bad," he said quietly as they walked to their (very separate) bedrooms.

Hermione glared at him, "She hasn't let us out of her sight since we told her."

He shrugged, "That's just Mum. Tomorrow we'll tell her we want to spend some time alone to get to know each other better or something. No mother bear watching over us, no prying eyes that we have to perform for."

She relaxed a bit into the idea. She was becoming, though she hated to admit it to herself, quite fond of Charlie Weasley. It was as if they had known each other for years-which, technically, they had-and were simply picking up where they last left off. Everything with Charlie was effortless and she needed effortless after the last few hours she just endured.

"Sweet dreams," he breathed as he leaned down and kissed her gently between her eyebrows. It was such a sweet gesture that she momentarily forgot that it was all just an act and let herself stare up at him for a fraction of a second too long.

But it didn't take long for her to come to her senses and pull her gaze away from a very flustered Charlie. Obviously someone was looking at them, Hermione reasoned. When she peaked down the stairs she did see a flash of red hair ducking back into a door and she let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

That night Hermione Granger fell asleep with her fingers lightly tracing the place where Charlie Weasley had burned his kiss into her forehead and thought things that only sneak into our minds as we are laying on our beds on the brink of consciousness. She thought about how tender his hands had been, one squeezing her hand gently and the other underneath her chin, pulling her face up to meet his. She thought about how much she longed, if only at night, for someone to kiss her goodnight just like that without any pretenses. She thought, in those last seconds when you are more asleep than awake, how she hoped that there would be more of that kind of acting because she quite enjoyed the feel of his lips on her skin.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, as if often does, brought with it a sense of clarity. Her delirium of the night before had left her completely and all she wanted from the day was to avoid Mrs. Weasley by all means possible because, as it turns out, she was much worse when Hermione was in a relationship than when she was not. Obviously the entire premise of their little lie was skewed but it was a bit too late to turn back now. Every move they made from here to New Years was about self preservation.

Breakfast according to Molly Weasley's itinerary came much too early for everyone (excluding Bill and Fleur who had been up for hours with Victoire). If not for the mouth watering smell of homemade biscuits, waffles with honey, banana and whipping cream, perfectly poached eggs and crispy bacon there would have been no moving those dozen or so people at seven o'clock in the morning. Full cups of black tea sat waiting for everyone struggling to wake up, freshly squeezed juice for Victoire. If there was ever a breakfast made to tempt children to move closer to home it was this one. Plates were piled high with more food than anyone needed and nobody talked until they were cleaned off. Hermione, for one, was very glad for the silence. Nobody was watching for her to throw herself at her new beau and she could eat in peace.

By the end of breakfast, though, Charlie had gone into boyfriend mode. When she finished her tea he stood up from his seat and made her another cup without asking. He saw that she had basically finished her biscuit in two bites and offered her his, claiming that he had eaten his fill. Every few minutes he would shoot her a flirty smile. Oh, how much more effort Charlie was putting into this facade than she was. She made a mental note to step up her game but could think of no ways to do so. Relationships had never been her forte; the most serious relationship she had been in was her "hot and heavy" month with Ron which included three sub-par kisses and no other changes in their behavior.

"I'm going to show Hermione the spider tree, Mum, and maybe the orchard too. We'll be out for a bit," Charlie announced as the kitchen cleared out.

Molly grinned like she was in on their little secret, "Of course, dear. Though I'm sure Hermione has seen the orchard. Maybe you can show her the stream out past the garden. It is so lovely this time of year."

Charlie laughed, "Mum, it's December. That stream is frozen solid."

Molly huffed, "Well, yes, but it is still a pleasant place to stroll about."

Wordlessly he shot Hermione a look apologizing for his mother's antics but nodded at her, "Yeah, sure Mum."

So they were off on their own day's adventure that kept them far from prying eyes and Hermione could not think of anything that could keep them outside all day but she followed her happy guide as he led them into every crevice of the Weasley's plot of land. They did some laps around the garden exchanging stories of tending too it (both of them had plenty), up and down the rows of the unfamiliar orchard and then through a thicket of tree behind the house that Hermione had never so much as noticed but Charlie seemed to know as well as the Burrow itself. They walked for a few minutes around skinny little trees and oaks that must have been a hundred years old. There was no path that Hermione could make out but Charlie walked most of the way backwards and seemed like he still knew exactly where they were going.

Finally he pulled to a stop in front of one of the biggest trees she had seen in their wanderings. He gestured to it proudly.

"This is the spider tree."

Hermione racked her brain for any readings that may have mentioned a 'spider tree' but she came up empty.

"I don't understand," she admitted sheepishly.

His smile widened, "Of course not. I haven't told you the story. So when Fred and George came home for the holiday after their first year they decided that they would make a sticking potion. Obviously this is well beyond the level of a first year but they were determined. So they swiped my Potions book and found the instructions. So they somehow found all the ingredients-I suspect they swiped them from Snape before we left Hogwarts-and they made the potion. Almost. It had to simmer for a few hours and Mum found it, made them pour it out. Long story short they dumped the batch out beside this tree and the roots absorbed it."

He finished by throwing a galleon from his pocket onto the tree where it stuck immediately.

His story was taken over by her thoughts. It was hard to imagine Fred and George so young, even if she could imagine them doing something like that. Charlie's part was even more unbelievable; for some reason she couldn't see Charlie interacting so easily with his family, living under the same roof, carrying around the same textbooks she had. To her Charlie was still new and strange. Though she had gotten to know a good deal more about him than she had known just days earlier he was still a mystery.

She snapped back to reality at the sound of something tearing. Charlie was walking up the tree.

Hermione threw her head back and laughed loudly, "What in Merlin's name are you doing?"

He smiled at her with heart stopping perfection, "Climbing a tree. Wanna try?"

And suddenly she could imagine him just a few years older than the twins. She could see him excitedly teaching his younger brothers how to ride a broom after his first semester. It all played out in her head and made this image of him so much better. Sure now Charlie Weasley was a grown man with scars and facial hair and rippling muscles but he had once been a boy. She could see that part of him sneaking out onto his face now.

What she could not see was herself climbing around that tree so she just laughed and shook her head firmly.

Charlie pouted, "And why not? It's as fun as I remember."

Trying to ignore his contagious grin Hermione snorted, "I would prefer that all my bones stay intact, thanks."

He kicked himself nimbly off the side of the tree that he had been crouching on to land a few feet in front of her, "I can teach you," he offered, "do you trust me?"

She paused to consider the question. Did she trust this man whom she barely knew? She was afraid to lie and she was afraid to tell the truth.

"Why should I?"

He never hesitated in responding, "Why shouldn't you?"

To Charlie it was that simple. He was an inherently trustworthy person and also a very trusting one. If Hermione had asked him the same question he would not have to give it a second thought.

Eventually she caved just like he knew she would. A run to the garden shed and back for a couple pairs of gardening gloves and they were climbing.

"No matter what you do," Charlie repeated for the umpteenth time, "do not touch the tree with your skin. It might scar Mum if I have to rip a chunk of skin off the first bird I date."

No way she was letting that comment slip past her.

"It is not possible that I am the first girl you have dated," she stated.

He laughed, "Obviously, since we aren't really dating.

"You know what I mean. Charlie Weasley, tell me you have had a girlfriend before," she demanded.

Charlie blushed slightly but covered it well, "Well, yes. Not many, have you, and none that my family knows of. I live by myself and I work with three other people, all male. Even if I worked with a gaggle of supermodels you know that dating isn't my priority."

She nodded. Not much she could say to contest that. Hermione had only had a couple boyfriends and a handful of dates herself.

"So," She decided to change the subject, "Are you going to help a lady climb a tree or not?"

"Well what kind of man would I be if I refused," he joked.

As it turns out, climbing the spider tree was not nearly as easy as Charlie had made it look. Just pulling one gloved hand out of the thick sap was more strain than she had experienced in quite a while. Every time she managed to pull one hand off, her momentum would take the other off too and she would go tumbling backwards. Charlie was mostly working as a landing pad for her as she learned how to peel the gloves off without any catastrophes. She could swear that no more than a few minutes had passed when George came to fetch them for lunch.

"Oh no!" she had shouted over dramatically as she took her first steps on solid ground in hours, "my legs won't make it. You'll have to go on without me. Tell me parents I love them."

Charlie threw his head back and let out a thunderous laugh as he bent down to pick her up where she had faux collapsed on the ground.

George wasn't sure whether to laugh or being disgusted with their utter couple-ness. Ind the end he had to laugh. He had not seen his brother look so carefree in a long time. He had a naturally laid back demeanor, of course, but he seemed completely at ease as they walked up to the house on that cool winter day.

Those few hours alone in the woods were the turning point of their "relationship". An easy friendship bloomed from the sap of the old tree and they found that the closer they were the less that were faking. The little conspiratal glances they shot each other across the table, the easy way Charlie would throw an arm over Hermione's shoulders and she would grin up at him, the bottomless fountain of conversation that shot out anytime there was even a moment of silence. Yes, they had a secret and there was something intimate and personal about sharing it with someone who had made you prove nothing to them; no conditions, no rules, only blind trust.

So next few days only got simpler. It was their habit now to spend most of the day outside in the freezing cold having whatever adventure they could find. After Hermione had conquered the spider tree they moved on to the frozen stream snaking around the outside of Molly's garden. It only took one day for Hermione to teach Charlie how to ice skate. There was one professional level game of hide-and-seek that lasted a couple hours, three hours of both of them trying to learn how to whittle, one frustrating hour of teaching Charlie how Muggles made a fire and an entire day dedicated to teaching her how to play the only instrument Charlie could play: the kaval (an odd flute-ish instrument that he had picked up in Romania that Hermione had no talent for).

It wasn't until Christmas Eve that problems arose. Just one problem, really. It was the damn mistletoe that messed everything up. They had both been content with their innocent friendship until they found themselves stuck under the mistletoe with no one else around. At least if there were witnesses thy could convince themselves that it was all part of the act. But everyone else had long abandoned the stuffy couches in favor of their beds. Hermione had been too engrossed in her book and Charlie had fallen asleep already so they were the last ones awake.

How could they have let their grogginess get the best of them? Arthur Weasley set u the mistletoe in the same place every year and they both knew well where that was. Under normal circumstances they could have easily avoided the trap but as it was Hermione had shaken Charlie awake seconds earlier and was feeling drowsy on her own right. So when they found themselves unable to leave the doorway it took them a moment to understand what was happening. Hermione looked up to glare at the insulting weed dangling innocently enough.

Charlie leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek hopefully but nothing happened. There are rules to follow when you get stuck under magical mistletoe and he knew it. Hermione shot him a "nice try" kind of look and bit her lip nervously.

Just when it seemed like they would be standing there all night awkwardly refusing to make eye contact Charlie made up his mind. Sure, a simple peck on the lips would have sufficiently freed them and kept their new found friendship in tact but who thinks that clearly in the dead of night?

Charlie's calloused hands slid on either sides of her face, the pads of his thumbs running up and down her cheekbones forcing the blood to rush her face. His eyes were questioning her every time her moved. Is this what you want? they seemed to ask and Hermione couldn't find it in herself to say no. He pulled her face upwards gentle so that there was an inch between their faces. And in that heavy moment just before a kiss when time stands still and the anticipation is, perhaps, better than the kiss itself Hermione suddenly thought of every single possible reason not to kiss him and decided that none of them were sufficient.

When his lips met hers it was fire. It was like a match had been lit and tossed deep into her chest and was trying to burn its way out. Gone were those sweet, butterfly-soft kisses on her forehead when she went to bed and all that was left was three days worth of pent up desire. A strong hands slipped away from her face to land on her waist and pull her closer. Still closer like he would never get her close enough to him. Hers wandered up to his chest seemingly on its own accord where she grabbed at the fabric of his tshirt and held on for dear life. Seconds might have passed, or minutes, or hours for all they knew but when they pulled apart they were panting for breath and searching the other's eyes for answers where there were none.

Because what could they say? I wish this was real? Never leave me? Those were not options for them. The same reasons why neither of them could hold a serious relationship with any other person were the same reasons why they could never be together. In a week Charlie would be back in Romania and Hermione would be back behind her desk.

Stop! they told themselves but they were magnets. The next kiss was beyond either of their control. It was overflowing with the desperation of two people who don't know they are in love yet trying to communicate feelings they wouldn't dare put into words. Or perhaps they were just trying to convince themselves that it was all the physical attraction; endorphins and dopamines were flooding their systems and giving them feelings that weren't there before.

And whether it was repressed feelings or raging hormones they both had vivid dreams all nights of mistletoe and kisses.


End file.
